Once You Blacken Your Heart
by SongForThePainter
Summary: Neal thinks he can just hurt Emma with a bloody pirate standing right there? He's in for a rude awakening. And so is Emma. When she's forced to accept that Hook might actually care for her. Just a quick one shot .


**Quick One Shot. Just a little idea that popped into my head. Please review 3**

Chapter One: Scream Any Louder And I Might Give A Shit

"Neal, who cares how we escaped!" Emma yelled, throwing her hands in the air as she paced across the small living area of his apartment.

"I just asked why you were at my apartment with the man who tried to kill my father. Not to mention you more then once!" he said back, his tone just as loud.

"Come on, lad." Hook muttered to the small child beside him, rolling his eyes as he spoke. "Let us give your folks some time to sort out their bloody issues." he grabbed Henry's shoulders and lead him towards the door.

"No, I can't leave my mom." Henry spoke up, wrenching away from Hooks grasp. He held up his hands in surrender to the boy, leaning back against the kitchen counter with boredom.

"Well, excuse me for trying to give them some privacy, boy." he snapped.

"It's not that." Henry said, gesturing with his hand for the pirate to lean down. He complied.

"If you are going to whisper something in my ear, I am not going to pinkie promise not to tell." he mocked at the young behavior.

"When he gets mad at Emma, he's not himself." Henry whispered. And somehow, Hook knew exactly what the boy meant. And it was almost unnecessary to explain, as a loud clap rang out through the small apartment.

"Mom!" Henry screamed, running towards the adults, shoving his father back with his small hands doing no damage. Hooks face stunned, their love always seeming sickeningly sweet. He didn't know what to think of it anymore.

"Neal, we are not kids anymore! I'm not going to let you treat me like that!" Emma said, pushing Henry behind her as she stepped up to her ex. She wasn't a defenseless, homeless, orphan anymore. She was strong. And she had to protect the one thing she cared about most of all. Henry.

"Hook." she called, not taking her eyes off of Neal as her arm stretched out to keep her son back.

"Want I should slit his throat, darling?" he said, his voice dripping with the sincerity of the statement as he glared at the older man with hate.

"I need you to take Henry out of here." she said, pushing him further back towards the pirate.

"You will trust a manipulative pirate with our son but you are afraid of me? How stupid are you, Emma?" Neal exclaimed, taking a threatening step towards her, her feet moving back to counter the distance he was closing in on.

Hooks eyes stayed narrowed and filled with fury as he took the short strides from the counter he was leaning against over to the boy. He grabbed Henry's shoulders and shoved him towards the door.

"No, get off of me! I'm not going to leave her alone with that asshole." he said, fighting against the pirate as he continued to push him towards the exit.

"Your mom and I just fought our way through Neverland and killed Peter Pan himself. It was no easy task, dear boy." he shot angrily at the child. He was frustrated at Neal and wanted nothing more then to keep the boy safe like she needed him to.

"So if she wants you safe, I'm going to do what she wishes because we fought too bloody hard to save your ass, savvy?" he said, opening the door and pushing him out.

"Now you better not move from outside this door. Because I agree with you, lad." the pirate smirked towards the child on the other side of the threshold. "We aren't leaving her. I am going to make sure your parents kiss and make up." he mocked, slamming the door and turning back around.

"You are not taking my boy away from me when we just got him back. We can finally be a family." Hook heard the man say, walking over to the pair as Neal forced her back against the fridge in the kitchen.

"Oi, it's rude to ignore a guest in your home, Baefire." Hook spat, walking over to stand in front of Emma, shoving Neal's shoulders back hard."And even more rude to make a pretty girl such as this feel so uncomfortable and unsafe." Neal's body slammed into the marble counter top as Hook turned around to examine Emma.

"You alright, love?" he asked, running a rough hand over her face. His thumb brushed her bottom lip as she nodded, a small cut the only injury visible on her face near her temple.

"Where's Henry." she asked, looking around the room, her face out of his careful grasp.

"I'd like to know the same thing." Neal asked, cradling a bruised back as he advanced towards them. Before Hook could mutter a single sarcastic retort, Emma stepped in front of him, putting herself right in Neal's face.

"If you think for one second that I am going to let you into our lives, you are in for a rude awakening." she said, pulling her fist back before slamming it into his jaw. "I don't ever want to see you again. And if you touch Henry, I promise, you'll be sorry." she threatening, shaking her injured hand out as she whipped back around towards Hook, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder to one side.

"You comin?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in his direction.

"Aye." he said, following her out the door. He watched as she picked up the truest believer and hugged him tightly to her chest, tears falling from her eyes onto his shirt.

"I'm sorry, Henry. Your dad and I-" Henry cut her off.

"It's okay, Emma. We don't need him" he said, looking past her shoulder at the pirate.

"The kid is right." he said, twirling his dagger between his fingers, looking disinterested.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Henry directed at Hook.

"Why would he have done that, Henry?" Emma questioned, looking back at the older man as they walked across the city to her place.

"Yes, my dear boy. Why on earth would I have killed him? It was so much fun for me to stand by and watch your mother get smacked around." his words dripped with annoyance as he sped up, walking a few strides ahead of them as they walked up a few stories of the small apartment building where Emma stayed.

"I'll take that as a no, hopefully." Henry muttered, opening the door and walking into the room before the adults.

"Henry, why don't you turn the TV on for a moment. Your mother and I need to have a little chat." Hook said, shutting the front door and pulling Emma into her bedroom by her wrist.

He locked the door behind them, the faint sound of the TV letting Hook know he could speak freely with her.

"Hook, what the hell?" she demanded, ripping her wrist from him and stepping back to sit on the edge of her bed.

"The boy was right in his question, sweetheart." he glared at her with anger still in his eyes. "I should've murdered the weak bastard."

"Neal was just a little angry. No reason to kill a man." she exclaimed, watching him move from the doorway to right in front of her at the bed. He crouched down between her legs, his hands on both her knees as she looked down at him.

Hook rubbed her knees for a moment, pressing harder then necessary. He watched his own actions as he contemplated his next words. After a moment, he finally lifted his head to lock his dark eyes with her light ones.

"It's not right to hit a lady." he said, his voice tight as if trying to keep the real words to himself_._

"Oh, come on, Hook. I know that what he did wasn't right, but let's be honest. You've put your hands on me on a few occasions when we weren't on the same side." she reasoned, pushing her hair over her shoulders to fall down her back.

"That is completely different." he said, his eyes glaring at her like that was the most blasphemous thing he had ever heard.

"How?" she demanded, still looking down at his face mere inches from her own.

"Because it just is, Swan!" he screamed, pushing himself up from his crouched position to pace in front of the bed.

"Help me understand just how you hurting me is different then Neal hurting me." she requested, her mind utterly confused at the entire conversation.

"Take a good look at your last words, darling. I didn't deny putting my hands on you. But I don't believe I've ever harmed you. Left a mark. Have I? The most I've ever done was push you out of the way when our goal was the same item. And I was always _more_ then careful of you." he demanded, the last question causing his features to soften at the possibility.

"You're right." she whispered, putting her face in her palms for a moment before pushing her hands back through her hair anxiously. "You're right, I'm sorry." she repeated, watching his face as he stopped pacing.

Hook stopped in his tracks and turn to stare at her worn out form. He pulled her up from the bed and ran his hand down her face. He let his thumb trace the cut that had formed to the side of her eye and frowned.

"And I never would. Why would I want to mess up such a pretty face?" he smirked, turning her head to the side to examine the wound more closely.

"I'm sorry. For yelling at you. You were just sticking up for me and I got so defensive. Guess I'm still getting use to the idea of not taking on the world alone anymore." she said softly, looking into his bright blue eyes as he ran his fingertips over the cut on her temple.

"It's no problem at all, darling. You may find this hard to believe, but you and I aren't so different. I too am stubborn when it comes to accepting help. But you are going to have to accept it from me today. Because if it's one thing I don't handle well, it's seeing a woman hurt by a man she loves."

"If you think I love Neal, you clearly haven't been paying attention. Maybe we need to get to know each other a little better, Hook." she smiled, shooing his careful hand away from her face falling back onto the bed.

"I'm so tired." she muttered, her eyes fluttering closed as she layed in the fully lit room.

"Get some sleep, Swan. I'll even keep you company if you'd like. I could never refuse a woman's invitation into bed" he said with a quirk of his brow.

She opened one eye, glaring at him. "Can I trust you?" she asked, kicking off her shoes with all the energy she could muster.

His face turned serious almost immediately. "Of course you can, love." he whispered, walking over to the other side of the bed. He watched as she leaned over the bed, turning her light off.

"One moment, princess" he mocked, cracking her bedroom door open just an inch, peering out into the living room. "I'm going to bring your boy into his bedroom." he whispered, heading out and scooping the small child into his arms.

Henry didn't stir as the pirate set him in his own twin sized bed, covering him up lazily with a large blanket. "Gnight lad." he whispered, silently closing the door behind him.

When he walked back into Emmas room, she had already stripped off her clothes, her body clad only in her panties and a tank top. She was moving under the covers, much to Hooks disappointed, as he crossed the threshold.

"Don't cover up on my account, Swan." he joked, taking off his boots and leather jacket. He got into bed beside her in a simple Tshirt and jeans, not wanting to cross any lines. Not after all they had been through the past few days. He knew she just needed rest. They both did.

"Shut up, Killian." she whispered, his name like a prayer on her lips. She turned towards him on her side, her eyes slits as she struggled to keep them opened.

"As you wish." he said softly in return, throwing the sheet over his body as well, lacing his fingers with hers between their bodies.

"Thank you for today." she said, surprising him. "For helping me save my son. And for making me feel safe when Neal was there today. If I'm being truthful, he normal scares me a bit. But you make me feel strong. So thank you." she said, her words so quiet he could barely hear them as her eyes blinked slowly before closing completely.

"You're welcome." he said, bring her hand towards him, kissing her knuckles. He let their entwined hands lay between their bodies in bed as they both drifted off to sleep.

Hook had a small smile on his lips, for the first time in a very long time.


End file.
